Alienware Area-51m R2 Review by Spartan

i have my R2 coming next week can't wait to get it.

 

First of all I would like to greet everyone and say that here is the best place to learn and be helped by people with so much technical knowledge and experience. When I start reading the posts with high quality subjects, I realize that I know almost nothing, I am a child close to the masters (lol).

I walked around here a while ago when I bought my Alienware 18 (in 2014) to learn how to configure settings for benchmarks and tips and tricks for this laptop. I have it in perfect condition to this day.

My brand new Area 51m R2 will arrive soon. I bought it with i9 10900K, RTX 2080 super, 32GB RAM XPM 3200 MHz and 1 SSD NVMe M.2 512GB (for operating system and software). It cost me a kidney.
Reading the user manual, I was unsure about the possible storage configurations.
I plan to install an M.2 Samsung 980 Pro 1TB (for games), an M.2 Samsung 970 Evo 512GB (for work stuff) and a 2.5" 2TB HDD (for general and media files).
The user manual says that the maximum capacity for the 2.5" HDD is up to 1TB only, is that so?
Is it possible to install on this laptop 3xM.2 and also 1 more 2.5 "HDD?
I'm sorry if this thread is not the correct one for this question. If someone can help me with this issue, I will apreciate. Thanks in advance.

 

Nice post!
Welcome
You can either have 2 x m.2 ssd + 1 x HDD or you can have 4 x SSD if you purchase the interposer board (optional) https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...earchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

Edit: please note that many users have reported having issues with the interposer board from Ali express. Not sure if it was resolved so before purchasing it i would ask help on the area 51Mr2 forum.

 

I've installed 2x m.2 ssd and 1x 5Tb Seagate Barracuda 2,5" and everything is working well

Inviato dal mio LYA-L29 utilizzando Tapatalk

 

Thank you very much for the clarification.
When I placed the order with Dell, the sales consultant did not tell me anything about the optional interposer board. I believe that I will receive it with standard storage. I think it's better not to risk having problems with the Ali Express interposer.
At first, the original storage will be good for me.

 

Hello. I will take advantage of the standard slots that come with the laptop at first. I have here a m.2 Samsung 980 Pro 1TB (for games) and a Seagate SSHD 2TB (for media and work files). I can't wait for my machine to arrive.
I hope I don't have any unpleasant surprises. I have read here on the forum about people who received the laptop with dead pixels.

 

Dead or stuck pixel are common with the 300Hz and 360Hz panel but some are fine. I have one stuck pixel (red pixel) on mine and it really don't bother me at all. Black light bleed is also present but consider normal with IPS panel. I never notice it unless i am looking for it intentionnally.
Now the 10900k will be your challenge more then the panel. You will have to spend some times fine tuning the core clock speed and undervolt (probably repaste) to get the best perfromance/temps for this laptop. 10 cores and LOTS of watts on this CPU can reach 100C very fast, but don't worry it can be fine tune from acceptable to good. For very good (5.1 and more all cores) it's another story demands a lot of work,skills, luck etc...
The GPU will run cool from factory ( 75C max at gaming) so no worry there.

My recommendation is:
1-Use Throttle Stop to undervolt (avoid Alienware command center for undervolting and overclocking at all cost. It's very unstable and incomplete) Only use command center for fan speed.
2-Go in the Bios (F2) and disable all automatic updates from Dell and windows.
3- Never update bios, unless you know it's safe and will not cripple de performance of your machine (Dell usually update bios to reduce performance of our aging system to save money on warranty repair). As of today bios 1.7.0 appears to be ok.
4-Purchase extended warranty before your warranty expire (Dell sometimes list their parts as «not for sale» so it becomes impossible to repair our system)

Tudo ficará bem

 

@Normimb, thanks a lot for your reply, I apreciatte.

My toy will come with the FHD 144Hz panel. I hope this already reduces the chance of having problems with the panel. I already purchased the laptop with extended warranty.

I have been following a lot the discussions here on the forum about the challenges of getting a good thermal balance setting the i9 10900K. This processor running inside a notebook seems to be a bit temperamental (lol).

I will follow your recommendations regarding not using AWCC to control processor settings. Here on the forum we have a complete tutorial on how to use the Throttle Stop for undervolt - "Alienware Area 51m Undervolt and Overclock Guide (started by Biker Gremling)". Even so, it will be a work of trial and failure, because what worked for one may not be for another. I have to find my own balance.

 

I had the 144Hz panel on my first area 51M R1 (it was G-sync version with 400 nits) and those panels were really good, excellent color accuracy out of the box and no issues with dead or stock pixel. I think you will have that version wich is excelltent in my opinion. The only place where the 300 and 360 Hz panel beats this one is for response time but....the 144 Hz is fast enough so you'll be fine.

 

You know, I can't wait to get my hands on this machine. I bought it from Dell Brasil and you pay for a kidney (lol) because of the dollar exchange rate and taxes. Dell's promise is to deliver to me on June 1st.

One thing I noticed on Dell USA website, is that you no longer have a purchase option with i910900K, only with i7 10700 and the m15 and m17 line (crappy BGA) is more expensive than the Area 51m.

Here in Brazil you can still order an Area 51m with i9 10900K. Will we have an R3 soon? It sounds strange, but you can see that Dell is focusing efforts on thinny notebooks. I particularly prefer a muscle machine.

 

Not so sure the outcome will be as you hope.

Dell wants to send a replacement Area 51m with lower specs...

With the time you are at a high risk get the thin and slimy sibling as replacement.

 

You are correct...again

It's terrible how dell is now trying to downgrade customer with system replacement. They did try that with me too when i exchange my 51M R1 for the R2. They offered 10900 instead of 10900K (previous system was 9900k).
I had to negociate a lot with the exchange Specialist at dell but i was able to get what i wanted. Not everyone will succed like i did, depends wich country you live in, who you speak to and how convincing you can be. In the end, extended warranty is still necessary since a possible downgrade is less worst as having a brick, unrepairable (no parts) laptop.

 

The 51M R1 and R2 are the best laptops they have made for many years. The M17 (thin) will perform well in benchmark like 3dmark beating the 2080S but in games it's another story. They run hotter, thermal throttles, power throttle and CPU performances are not good. FPS are comparable in games, depending on the game.
Unfortunately Alienware will most probably not reniew the Area 51M. Here in Canada they have only the10700 CPU and 2070S configurations left. I expect if my 2080S eventually dies that i will be offered an M17 as replacement. I hope not.

 

I recently repaste my Alienware 18. I have been using Kryonaut Extreme thermal compound. I am satisfied with the result.
Liquid metal despite being unbeatable in thermal result has more cons than pros besides the risk of damaging the hardware. I have seen many reviews and videos on the use of liquid metal in notebooks which made me somewhat unsure of using it.
I would like to know which thermal paste you recommend using whith good thermal conductivity, durability and result. It is for my new A51m R2 that is arriving soon.

 

Watch that Kryocrap deteriorate in performance within 1 week. then count another 2 weeks and your machine will be an overheating furnace. Its the worst thermal paste in my experience. Starts out great, then fall apart quickly.

The best is PHOBYA NanoGrease Extreme but it' out of stock everywhere. I would pick Noctua NT-H1 as an alternative

 

Kryocrap is nice (lol).
Thanks for the good information, it was very important to know what to use. This thermal paste issue is very controversial. Opinions are always very diverse. So I made it a point to ask here on the forum.
I managed to buy Noctua today. It should arrive in the next few days.
Do you find it convenient to repaste my A51 R2 as soon as I get it, before putting it on to work out hard?

 

Test it out properly beforehand and measure temps in some selected benchmarks. Then use it to compare with results after the re-paste.

 

Hello guys, today I received an email from Dell with the invoice of my A51m R2. I believe that in a few days I will be receiving my new toy.

I have a brand new Noctua NT-H2 waiting for the first repaste. I was thinking about buying Gelid GP Extreme thermal pads as well. Do you know the thickness that should be used in the A51m R2?

Does repaste and thermal pads change void the product warranty?

Thanks in advance.